White House Condemns New Bomb Threats Against Jewish Sites
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(JTA) — White House press secretary Sean Spicer condemned a new wave of bomb threats against Jewish sites, including Jewish community centers and Anti-Defamation League offices.
“I want to acknowledge that there’s been an additional wave of threats to Jewish community centers and Anti-Defamation League offices,” Spicer told reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday.
“I share the president’s thoughts that he vehemently hopes that we don’t continue to have to share these reports with you. But as long as they do continue, we’ll continue to condemn them and look at ways in which we can stop them,” he said.
As of midday Tuesday, at least a dozen Jewish institutions across North America had received threats of lethal attack, the sixth such wave since the beginning of the year. Among those targeted were at least 10 community centers, a pair of Jewish day schools and four regional offices of the Anti-Defamation League. More than 100 Jewish institutions, most of them community centers, have been targeted since the beginning of the year.
Trump, who has come under fire for delayed responses to the threats, noted them during his address to a joint session of Congress last week.
“Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded of our nation’s path toward civil rights and the work that still remains,” Trump said at the opening of his speech. “Recent threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms.”
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